You Just Got to Japan. What’s Next?
For most people, ALT work is a career starting point, not a destination.
Opportunities for promotion and meaningful pay increases within ALT work are extremely limited. ALT work gives you access to Japan, but it’s not a career path in and of itself, even if you want to stay in education.
Some ALTs leave Japan with lifelong relationships, strong language skills, and clear next steps. Others drift through the experience, never deciding what comes next and never preparing for it.
No one is going to hire you just because you were an ALT. But it is an excellent opportunity build skills, relationships, and experience that make you highly employable.
ALT work gives you time to develop yourself, access to Japan, and proximity to new opportunities. What you do with those determines whether it’s a detour or a launchpad.
Part 1: Getting the Most Out of ALT Life
1. Say Yes to (Almost) Everything
As the resident foreigner, you’ll be invited to things, including community events, dinners, local clubs, random activities you didn’t know existed.
Say yes.
Even if it doesn’t sound interesting. Even if it feels awkward. Even if you think you won’t enjoy it.
At worst, you’ll make a few local contacts and have a story to tell later. At best, you’ll build lasting relationships or discover a new side of yourself.
You won’t be here forever. Say yes now.
Hopefully we don’t need to tell you that “saying yes” doesn’t mean ignoring safety or common sense. We’re just saying you should err on the side of participation rather than isolation.
2. Involve Yourself in the Local Community
Part of being an ALT is being a cultural ambassador. And while that certainly includes participating in school events and clubs, it doesn’t have to end there. Look into:
- Local festivals
- Intermural sports
- Volunteer cleanups
- Language exchange groups
- Choirs, martial arts dojos, hobby circles
Bear in mind that in small Japanese towns, information is just as likely to be offline as online. Events are often posted:
- At libraries
- Community centers
- City hall bulletin boards
- Schools and kominkan
If you only check social media, you’ll miss half your opportunities.
3. Balance Local Relationships with ALT Friend Groups
ALT friends matter. You should absolutely build relationships with other foreigners. The person who refuses to associate with non-Japanese people is creepy (even by Japanese standards).
That said, most ALT friendships are temporary. People rotate in and out every year or two. Rebuilding those relationships over and over again can quietly wear you down.
More importantly, those relationships aren’t fundamentally different from the friendships you could make back home. The “Japanese friends only” guy is wrong in practice, but right in one sense. If you’re not forming relationships with locals, why are you here?
Building local relationships is harder. Language and cultural barriers exist. But those relationships unlock sides of Japan that ALT-only circles never will.
The sweet spot is balance. If you can successfully merge the friend pools (foreign and local) you’re doing actual cultural exchange.
4. Learn to Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
You will feel uncomfortable at times. And that’s okay. Part of the experience is dealing with things like:
- Language barriers
- Cultural misunderstandings
- Loneliness
- Feeling out of place
Learning to sit with discomfort is one of the most valuable skills you can take from ALT life. It’s both a valuable job skill and an important life skill. Lean into the opportunity to grow.
Part 2: Getting the Most Out of ALT Work
5. Decide Early: Is Japanese a Job Skill or a Survival Tool?
Casual Japanese study makes daily life easier. Serious study changes your career options. Decide early if you want to commit to serious Japanese study or if you just want survival Japanese.
If you want Japanese to matter professionally, you need objective proof. That means taking and passing the more difficult levels of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). Your self-assessment does not matter for professional purposes.
Here’s a rough breakdown of what each level of the JLPT says about you:
- N5 / N4: Nice to have. Helps daily life, but not a career booster.
- N3: Useful for positions where basic Japanese communication is enough. If you have in-demand technical skills, it can get you a non-teaching job.
- N2: This is where Japanese becomes a real job skill. Required for most non-teaching roles. You’ll still want to work on improving your formal Japanese and learning specialized terms for the industry you want to work in.
- N1: Impressive, but not magic. Without formal Japanese ability and industry-specific vocabulary, it won’t get you past the first interview.
If Japanese is meant to be more than survival, N2 is the minimum goal. After that, business formal Japanese and industry-specific vocabulary matter more than passing the N1.
6. Don’t Get Trapped as “Just a Teacher”
If you want to transition out of teaching, your resume needs to say something other than “ALT.” The longer you wait to build non-teaching skills, the harder that transition becomes.
Good uses of ALT time include:
- Researching industries that hire bilingual candidates (IT, HR, accounting, project management, etc.)
- Earning professional certifications for those industries
- Earning professional certifications for software used in those fields (Excel, Canva, data tools)
- Building portfolios
- Networking with people doing the job you want
Many certification courses and skill-building projects look professional enough to work on during downtime in the teacher’s lounge. They’re a much better investment of time than doomscrolling.
7. Study Japanese Work Culture While You’re Inside It
ALT life is one of the best chances you’ll ever get to observe Japanese work culture with low expectations.
You get:
- Daily immersion
- Forgiveness for mistakes
- Low-stakes participation
If you take the time to study Japanese work culture formally during this time, it will pay off dividends. Invest in some academic books on the topic, or check out online articles and videos from subject matter experts.
Many Japanese business concepts can feel abstract until you experience them firsthand. ALT work is a perfect time to wrap your head around:
- Consensus-driven decision-making processes
- Indirect communication
- Hierarchy and responsibility
- Conflict avoidance
Interviewers can tell the difference between someone who learned Japanese work culture and someone who merely existed inside it.
Part 3: Take the Long View
8. Think in Terms of Trajectories
ALT work can feel slow day-to-day. Progress often only becomes visible in hindsight. Check in with yourself regularly:
- Am I more capable than six months ago?
- Am I clearer about what I want next?
- Am I building toward something or just waiting?
You don’t need to hustle constantly. Enjoying daily life matters, and small experiences build up over time. But you’ll get the most out of both work and daily life if you have a long term goal in mind.
Think about what you’re building to, not just what you feel in the moment.
9. Leaving Japan Is Not Failure
Many ALTs arrive expecting to stay forever. Others quietly feel that leaving equals giving up.
But in real life, leaving isn’t a failure. Staying isn’t a success. What matters is if you’re building something.
Talk to former ALTs. See where they ended up. If their paths look interesting, study how they got there.
You don’t need your life plan on day one. But you do need to start working toward clarity.
Future you will thank you!
What to Read Next
Life After ALT
What common next steps actually look like.
When to Use Japanese (And When Not To)
Making language choices that help, not hurt.
Rural vs. Urban Placements
How environment shapes experience and opportunity.
If you want a structured, end-to-end tips on everything applying to arriving, those topics are covered in detail in So You Want to Be an ALT.
ALT Roadmap 